This invention relates generally to sheet metal coil straightener devices and, more particularly, to an improved straightener mechanism wherein the head assembly containing the feed and straightening rollers is rotatably adjustable to substantially remove the xe2x80x9ccoil setxe2x80x9d associated with coiled stock material and to orient the sheet material so as to exit the head assembly in any desired direction of travel including a substantially horizontal direction parallel to the ground regardless of whether the coiled material is over fed or under fed into the straightener device. The present rotatable feature substantially reduces the total number of straightener rollers necessary to accomplish the straightening task and substantially reduces the power requirements associated therewith.
Sheet metal coil straightener devices for substantially eliminating and removing xe2x80x9ccoil setxe2x80x9d from a coiled stock of sheet material prior to performing other fabrication and/or manufacturing operations are well known in the industry. When sheet metal or other types of sheet material are stored in coiled form, such material becomes set or imprinted with the coiled shape such that, when the material is uncoiled, it will not obtain a substantially straight, horizontally flat configuration. Instead, the coiled sheet material retains the memory of the coiled shape and will have, among other deformations, a curl associated therewith. As a result, if the coiled sheet material is merely uncoiled without passing such material through some type of straightening device, such material will not lay flat and will project downward if overwound or upward if underwound from the coil. This deformation or coil imprint is typically referred to as xe2x80x9ccoil setxe2x80x9d. Passing coiled sheet material through a straightener device substantially removes the xe2x80x9ccoil setxe2x80x9d from the rolled material and prepares the sheet material for other machine or fabrication operations.
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a typical prior art sheet metal coil straightener device 10 configured for straightening over fed or overwound coils of sheet metal material, that is, it is configured to accept sheet material pulled off of the top of the coil for entry into the straightener device. The prior art straightener device 10 typically includes a pair of entry feed rollers 12, an optional pair of exit feed rollers 14, and a plurality of staggered straightening rollers 16 positioned therebetween. For over fed or overwound coils, the straightening rollers 16 are typically arranged in a pyramid-type fashion as illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein, in the particular illustration depicted in FIG. 1, two upper straightening rollers 16 are positioned above and in the space between three lower straightening rollers. In this regard, depending upon the size and thickness of the coiled material, any plurality of straightening rollers 16 may be utilized including more or less than the number of rollers 16 depicted in FIG. 1 in order to substantially remove the xe2x80x9ccoil setxe2x80x9d from a particular stock of coiled material. Typically, the upper rollers associated with both the entry and exit feed rollers 12 and 14 are adjustable relative to the other entry and exit feed rollers to accommodate the particular thickness of the sheet material and the straightening rollers 16 are spaced and positioned so as to allow the sheet material to leave the exit feed rollers 14 in a direction of travel which is substantially parallel to a horizontal plane.
In similar fashion, FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a typical prior art sheet metal coil straightener device 20 configured for straightening under fed or underwound coils of sheet metal material, that is, it is configured to accept sheet material pulled off of the bottom of the coil for entry into the straightener device. Like the device 10, the prior art straightener device 20 typically includes a pair of entry feed rollers 12, an optional pair of exit feed rollers 14, and a plurality of straightening rollers 16 positioned therebetween, the number and configuration of the straightening rollers 16 associated with the device 20 being somewhat different from the roller configuration associated with straightener device 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. In this regard, since the coiled sheet metal material is being pulled off of the bottom of the coil, the leading edge curl associated with the coiled sheet material will be opposite that associated with an over fed coil and, as a result, the plurality of straightening rollers 16 are offset and staggered somewhat differently as shown in FIG. 2 so as to yield a substantially straight and horizontally flat piece of sheet material when such material leaves the exit feed rollers 14. Since the leading edge curl associated with an overwound coil is different from an underwound coil, the arrangement of the straightening rollers 16 is different as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 to accommodate the direction of such curl.
Due to the construction and operation of prior art straightener devices such as the devices 10 and 20 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of straightening rollers 16 including up to as many as twenty-one individual rollers 16 may be necessary in order to substantially remove the xe2x80x9ccoil setxe2x80x9d associated with a particular sheet of coiled material. As the number of straightening rollers 16 increases, so does the complexity, size and cost of the straightener device. Also, as is evident from the roller configurations and arrangements depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, adjustment of the straightening rollers 16 must be accomplished each time a particular straightener device transititions between the two different coil feed modes of operation, namely, from an overwound coil mode of operation to an underwound coil mode of operation, or vice versa.
It is therefore desirable to reduce the number of straightening rollers 16 associated with a particular straightener device; it is desirable to make a particular straightener device more adaptable to accommodate the reception of both overwound and underwound coils; it is desirable to reduce the overall cost of a particular straightener device; and it is desirable to improve the overall operation and efficiency of a particular straightener device.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a sheet metal coil straightener device having a pair of entry feed rollers and a single straightening roller mounted to a head assembly, the head assembly being rotatable or tiltable in both a clockwise and counter-clockwise direction so as to properly angularly orient the feed and straightening rollers to accommodate the reception of both overwound and underwound coils. The present invention includes means for adjusting the spacing between the pair of entry feed rollers; means for adjusting the vertical position of the straightening roller relative to the entry feed rollers; and means for rotating the entire head assembly about a predetermined axis of rotation.
Rotation of the present head assembly enables an operator to properly orient the feed and straightening rollers such that the sheet of coiled material will exit the head assembly in any desired direction of travel depending upon the subsequent maching and fabrication operations including a substantially horizontal direction parallel to ground level. The present invention eliminates the need for utilizing a plurality of straightening rollers; it reduces the size and complexity of the overall straightener device; and it greatly reduces the power requirements for rotating the feed and straightening rollers and for accomplishing the straightening process.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings.